RSSMicrosoft Unfolds 'Origami' as UMPC
By Nate Mook | Published March 9, 2006, 11:56 AM
As expected, Microsoft revealed its much-anticipated Origami Project at CeBIT in Germany, showing off a new platform of devices it calls Ultra-Mobile PCs. The UMPC largely resembles a small Tablet PC with 7-inch touch screen, and runs the full version of Windows XP.
Microsoft calls the UMPC "a new category of device" -- larger than an iPod or PSP, but smaller than traditional laptops and tablets. While the UMPC won't fit into a pocket, the company feels that consumers are ready for a smaller, lighter form factor that retains the full functionality of a PC.
To that end, Microsoft has developed a special software interface called the Touch Pack to improve usability while on the go. The Microsoft Touch Pack starts with the Program Launcher, a "home screen" for the UMPC that categorizes applications into groups and makes it easier to navigate through them.
The Touch Pack adjusts 10 Windows settings to optimize the operating system's interface for the UMPC's small screen. Microsoft has also included a special Windows Media Player skin to make the controls easier to use with pen input.
Because current versions of the UMPC don't have a keyboard, Microsoft is including a software package called DialKeys, which overlays a QWERTY keyboard on the screen and enables users to type with their thumbs. The devices will also support external USB or Bluetooth keyboards.
On the inside, the UMPC includes a 30-60GB hard drive and Intel Celeron M, Pentium M or VIA C7-M processors. Depending on the configuration a UMPC could feature GPS, a webcam, fingerprint reader, TV tuner and build in memory card reader. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Ethernet are all supported as well.
"Although hardware designs will vary by manufacturer, UMPCs will all feature small, lightweight designs that are optimized for mobility and ease of input. According to current baseline physical specifications, Windows-based UMPC devices will weigh less than 2 pounds," says Bill Mitchell, Corporate Vice President of the Windows Mobile Platforms Division.
Three UMPCs were on display at CeBIT built by manufacturers Samsung, ASUS and Founder. The Samsung and Founder models are expected to launch in the second quarter with the ASUS UMPC following shortly thereafter. Although pricing will be determined by each OEM, Microsoft expects UMPCs to run between $599 and $999 USD.
Jupiter Research vice president Michael Gartenberg says the price point is a key difference in getting adoption of UMPCs to take off. "Is it the most powerful PC you own? No, but the PC you have at hand is better than the best machine you leave behind."
"As a business user, I'd much rather have a small XP device that can use all my Office documents and let me manage mail on the road and a nice large and powerful desktop with a nice big screen in the office," Gartenberg notes. "Of course, in order for this to work, we're going to need to see some real powerful sync tools from Microsoft."
However, Gartenberg also notes the batter life of the new devices -- currently around two and a half hours -- needs to improve. "They could also use cheap 3G solutions for connectivity and a smaller form and higher storage capacities," he says.
Microsoft says it will listen to feedback it receives on the first generation devices, and promises it has big plans for the UMPC.
"The "Origami" project is really our first step toward achieving a big vision. We believe that UMPCs will eventually become as indispensable and ubiquitous as mobile phones are today," says Mitchell. "Our next step along the roadmap will take place in the Windows Vista release timeframe."
While UMPC will be the official name for the class of devices, Microsoft is continuing to use Origami Project for a new community site it has setup. UMPC owners can post their opinions on the site, as well as download Program Launcher backgrounds.
I would have to say it looks slick. The applications need to be diverse. As a network tech this could be an option to develop software that works like a "fluke" network analyzer. Possible other type of hardware could be adapted software wise and plugable through the network jack.
I do see the limited options in this item. No real function as an over sized PDA. Only semi cheaper than a laptop of equal stats. The more screen and battery life is worth the extra $200 for a laptop.
I do see some promise but not a real driving reason to purchase, but we will see what offerings software wise it brings.
List of things to do on an UMPC:
-browse the web
-edit documents
-play solitare
-possible voice chat for VOIP with video capablity.
-possible remote control for home
-Play DVDs/Music/other audio/video -limited time though
-Remote access device for a network(think nursing station, on the spot network control device)
That end my list, looks like a bit, but not much..oddly enough.the only real thing missing is game play..real game play..on a 7 inch screen the only thing I woudl play is Role playing anyway, but great type of games for travel and may be technically capable of doing so.
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|The device almost got me and I was tempted to get one when it comes up. But the fact that to type stuff you need to use pen input is kinda annoying for a USD 599-699 gadget. I am making my comment based on the assumption that there is not physical key pad with it. And I am not too used to the pen input. So apparently it is an useless product that I would not consider buying.
But, must say one thing...the UMPCs surely looks cool.
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|name? this thing.... will it fold?!
appart from that, cool idea, as long as its not to expensive.
also... tooooo mutch hype for this!
the only time i might buy this is when batteries reach 20+ hours and capacity 500 gig+ they need to improve and make it smaller, 15x10cm screen and 5mm titanium alloy edge arround it, so total size like 16x11x2cm.
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|Wow, this will change my life certainly. Just kidding, what a bunch of hype. I'm not really all that impressed. My laptops work just fine, for me, but maybe other people will have a use for it.
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|The name....interesting!!
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|2.5 hours of battery life... yawn... These people never learn!
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|Its designed obsolescence. when will YOU learn. They know how to make tires last forever, batteries hundreds of hours, parts that never wear out.. But then, there would be no repeat business, if you bought something once, and it never needed repairing.
Its purposeful economy, everything has a built in shelf life.. why do you think warrantys are so short? The only products with a guarantee for life, are items with no moving parts.
Batteries are getting better, but they aren't interested in selling you better, only more...
You want 5 hours battery life, buy another battery....
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|:Rolleyes:
There's designing for repeat business and designing for pratical usage.
Origami is designed for neither. In it's current form, it's nothing more than a toy.
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|Umm... it's a rechargable battery, right?
It's not like you have to buy a new battery every 2.5 hours. What repeat business?
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|Actually it will not be a toy, there are tons of potential biz applications for this device.
You can't image how long I've been waiting for a device this compact.
(Hope the Functionality is as big as the Hype is!)
As of Late only the PSP, Archos AV700 and Creative Zen Vision have been available which are very proprietary in their OS & firmware for tweaking.
As for the battery situation... time rolls on and battery types and recharge technology needs improving. It is hard for them to stay current to more demanding (more power) new technologies coming out at this fast pace time frames.
All in All... good news will be even better when applied to new smaller mobo boards and OLCD displays are just around the corner.
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|I WANT ONE!!
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|I think samsung model looks cool...
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|Yeah, that's what I said when I first saw the pics of them.
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|wow!!! battery life 2 whole hours.
You would think they'd start off with 5 to 7 minutes but no... they really pushed the envelope.
Welcome to the 21st century, the future is here. heheh
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|The battery life is certainly a huge disappointment as far as I'm concerned, and I'm a supporter of the devices. I think they're a great idea, and I can think of plenty of uses for one as a current TabletPC user. Still 2.5-3.5 hours is still the average life of a full-sized notebook (with obvious exceptions in certain models), so I am confident the life will improve as development continues.
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|2.5-3.5 hours, is only for the first 6 months.. it declines after that.
Batteries hate 2 things, heat and continuous charge. You can get a lot more life out of batteries if you remove them from the laptop, while its plugged in..
I still get almost 4 hours out of my battery, because I don't leave it charging 24 hours a day, and I try not to let it get hot..
I am not sure the composition of this battery for this device, but if its NOT lithium ION, its not worth it.. Of course, there may be aftermarket batteries for it.
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|Looks nice. The Program Launcher looks pretty Vista-esque.
If they have decent performance, I just might buy one of these instead of a new laptop this/next year.
I can see these being used largely as portable media players. I wonder if XP Media Center Edition will come with some of them.
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|Media center edition will probaly come out after they get better battery life only a couple hours is not very good for people looking for that sort of thing and is one of the main things i will use it for when i get one.
I plan on waiting for the second or third generation to come out before i get one.
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|For those of you that don't know....another company offers a similar device.
http://www.oqo.com
That's a bit smaller, but more expensive
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|Well of course another company already has an identical device. When what the last time Microsoft actully inovated anything?
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|Buahahhahhahahahah.....*sigh*
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|Just because Microsoft' name is the focus of the hype, there are plenty of other names involved here, just so we're clear. This is an industry-wide development, so keep your petty attack in check. Obviously with Intel, Samsung, and Asus (some rather big names) involved there's a bit more at stake than just some whimsical interest by Microsoft.
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|Actually for you cynical folk, that continually bring this point up, I can compile a list of things MS has created and innovated, and it would shock you.
They make more things then you know, and they continually improve their product line. You are just not a MS fan, so you will NEVER see anything good come out of Redmond. That's called blind cynicism.
You only see what you want to see. Which is fine for me, because every comment from you from now on, I can simply refute and chalk up as ignorant.
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|MS has *NEVER* created or innovated *ANYTHING*.
(and I'm not even a Apple fan!)
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|"...Microsoft expects UMPCs to run between $599 and $999 USD." what is supposed to move people to buy these over laptops?
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|They're tablets.
It's all about the touchscreen.
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|Its cheaper than a laptop.. What do you want?
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|cheaper...dammit....cheaper. hell, how 'bout free!?
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|Not by much really...
These days, you can find tons of decent laptops for less than $1000.
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|I would take one of these over a laptop any day the only real advantage of a laptop is screen size and battery life and from what i hear they are working on a better battery and hoping to have one out by next year that supposed to last all day.
The advantage the UMPCs have is ease of use when walking around just like a pda only this things got a proper OS on it.
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|You mean a gaming laptop? These seem to be more expensive than a laptop with a decent Sempron processor(3000+?), 1gb mem, and an 80GB HD.
While I wouldn't mind having one just so I could gut things out of windows and have PortableFirefox on there...I'm too cheap.
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|Yeah but in fairness you'll be hard-pressed to find a Tablet this cheap, or a PDA with as much flexibility... and even decent PDA's are running $350+ as referenced by a coworker's recent $550 purchase of a Dell Axim, which he uses for a few simple purposes such as contact/scheduling and some network maps. I think these make a nice hybrid for people who want a bit for form and function, and I trust that the limited battery life will improve over time.
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|Yeah celeron processors, shared memory, basic video card, on a mediocre DVD/CD RW drive, small display, and no external devices.
Yeah, that will be reeeeaal handy. No thanks.
This is a more scaled down version of a laptop, but its not designed to replace the laptop.
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|Um.. I don't feel the need to "touch" my screen, I don't know about you, but a stylus or mouse is good enough for me.
I don't want no stinkin' fingy prints on my surface!
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|http://about.pricegrabbe...ews/ut=8f58b2c0da66df5a
1.6GHz Pentium M 725A, 512MB DDR2, 40GB, DVD±RW DL, Windows XP, 14" TFT...
...for less than $1,000
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|http://www.newegg.com/Pr...sp?Item=N82E16834101001
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|If you read the article, it talks about the Dialkeys keyboard which allows users to type with their thumbs...
Obviously, they're going to have to coat the screen with something to prevent it from preserving every single fingerprint for posterity.
That being said, I'm with you. I'd rather use a stylus, but most people probably will use their fingers.
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|the asus model looks nice ....
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|Yeah, that one looks sweet!
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|But, but... Das mod, I could have sworn you said just last week that it's "not as portable as a PDA but not as useful as a laptop ...." and "other than taking notes, i see no other use for this thing ...." So in the end, does it really matter how nice it looks? *grin* Sorry, just had to point this out. :)
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|looks nice, is this whats gonna actually be released?
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|That is the plan, yes.
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|I want one...!
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|Woah, don't think I'll ever buy one, but that on-screen keyboard looks pretty cool!
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|MS is really showing its class. Setting the bench mark. A terrific idea to put key-board in. I can't wait to hold one for myself.
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